It has been just a handful of games so far for Amarjit Singh Kiyam in the senior Indian National Team and the young midfielder has already managed to establish himself as a key member of Igor Stimac’s squad.
Hence, the news of his injury blow just days before the crucial 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Oman and Qatar could not have come at a worse time for the Croatian head coach.
In his limited appearances so far for the Blue Tigers, the former India U17 skipper has forged a promising partnership in midfield with fellow youngsters Sahal Abdul Samad and Anirudh Thapa with his tenacity and running at the base complementing the flair provided by the duo in front of him.
A tireless worker on the pitch with plenty of bite in tackle, Amarjit has been a breath of fresh air during India's 2019 Intercontinental Cup campaign.
The Manipur-born 18-year-old’s defensive role has been the perfect foil to the guile and composure provided by Samad and Thapa in the midfield with the team’s performances suffering whenever the trio were not on the pitch simultaneously.
Goal
The youngster’s promise was clear to see in the lead up to India’s maiden participation in the FIFA U17 World Cup and he has only built upon those ever since in his displays for the Indian Arrows.
With Amarjit now ruled out of both the crux matches against arguably the two best teams in the qualifying group, India will have to look at other options such as Rowllin Borges, Brandon Fernandes and Vinit Rai.
None of the three potential replacements can perform the same kind of role Amarjit has occupied so far in the three-man midfield with their displays in the Intercontinental Cup not exactly being noteworthy.
Control in midfield will be pivotal for India in the upcoming battles with Oman and Qatar but it will not be easy, given the fact that both teams are technically on a superior level. India will have to be prepared to spend large parts of both games chasing the ball and that is where Amarjit’s drive and engine will be a big miss for Stimac and the team management.
The Croatian head coach would definitely have penciled in Amarjit in his playing XI for the two qualifiers and it will now be interesting to see which direction he chooses to go with in the wake of the youngster’s untimely injury.
